"The goal ofHelios is to put the social responsibility of banking back at the center to provide more transparency to users about what banks do with their money and to achieve 100% financing towards sectors of the ecological transition, such as renewable energies, low-carbon mobility, and sustainable agriculture,” explains Maeva Courtois.
Indeed, French banks emit 8 times the CO2 emissions of the entire country just through their investments, according to various reports. Thus, they can decide to allocate the money from our savings accounts towards a new coal power plant or a new oil project, which will emit CO2 through their use.
“So there is really a challenge in being able to think and participate in directing money towards developing new services and products that are more responsible and that address the challenges of climate change, to rethink our ways of consuming and producing,” explains Maeva Courtois. "And that’s the bet of Helios, to be able to direct the money so that each of us, regardless of our means, can participate in financing the ecological transition".
The financial savings of the French people amount to 6 trillion euros. Since 2020, Helios has directed around 15 million euros towards ecological transition projects.
"Helios has been the greenest account in France for 3 years now, with the lowest carbon impact, which is 5 times less than traditional banks,” specifies Maeva Courtois. "This means that when I deposit €1 with Helios, my impact on the planet is 5 times lower than in a traditional French bank".
"And this resonates a lot with part of the population, who realize the power of money without really having to change their habits, since I find the full range of services at Helios, including current accounts, joint accounts, premium accounts, as well as savings, investments, and tools to help me save money. So we are able to meet customer demands that put the responsibility of financing the future back on access to finance,” concludes Maeva Courtois.
